1. Field of the Invention
The present application is related to an AC electrical receptacle containing charging connectors for portable electronic devices where said charging portion of the electrical receptacle can be easily upgradeable to future portable electronic device charging and power standards by use of a removable module.
2. Technical Background
The past several years has seen a proliferation of portable electronic devices. Smart phones, tablets, laptops, game pads, cameras, portable lights, and electronic toys to name a few. One commonality amongst all these portable electronic devices is the need to recharge their respective batteries. Several strategies by portable electronic device manufactures for charging said batteries have been removable batteries and a charging adapter which plug into an AC high voltage wall electrical receptacle, a charging adapter with proprietary plug to attach to the portable electronic device, a charging adapter with standardized plug such as micro USB to attach to the portable electronic device for charging, and inductive charging pad to wirelessly charge the portable electronic device while in close proximity to the portable electronic device. The drawback of all these approaches is the adapter and charge cord required. Adapters and charge cords have the down side of easily being lost by the user, incompatibility between one adapter and a different portable electronic device, incompatibility between the adapter and future similar portable electronic devices, and safety issue of the ‘wall wart’ style adapter being easy to bump and partially expose the high voltage prongs.
Inventors have come up with solutions which address some concerns but not all. Current state of the art approaches include electrical receptacles containing USB type A connector or connectors and an associated low voltage switching power supply used for powering the USB type A plugs. However that technology implementation does not eliminate the issue of requiring a charge cord to connect from the USB plug in the electrical receptacle to the portable electronic device. These charge cords can easily be lost. Another issue is unsightliness if one keeps the charge cord plugged into the electrical receptacle at all times. Furthermore current technology implementations do not address future compatibility where the portable electronic device may require different power or signaling requirements. Current technology does not address the safety issue of young children attempting to plug wires into outlets—a young child may not distinguish between the USB type A socket and high voltage AC socket.
Other proposed inventions include a retractable charge cord inside the electrical receptacle. However since the charge cord is part of the electrical receptacle and not part of a removable module, the electrical receptacle will not work with portable electronic devices with different style charge connectors. Since all electrical receptacles are ‘hard wired’ to a building's high voltage wiring and replacing it may require a municipal electrical permit and an electrician to perform the work, both which are costly and time consuming. Also the future compatibility issue remains where even if the same plug style is included in future portable electronic devices, the power requirement and signaling protocol required by the portable electronic device may be different. Furthermore, retractable charge cords can easily break if one pulls on them with excessive force rendering the electrical receptacle broken and an expensive electrician service call to replace said electrical receptacle.
Another drawback with current electrical receptacles with built in low power supplies is the limited amount of low voltage DC power said electrical receptacle can provide due to thermal constraints. Power supplies have two inherent constraints. First, no power supply is 100% efficient and the un-efficient portion of the power is converted into heat which must be dissipated by the electrical receptacle. Second, there is a limited amount of heat which can be dissipated inside a wall electrical box. For example, an 80% efficiency 100 Watt power supply would need to dissipate 25 Watts which exceeds the power dissipation capability of a traditional electrical box while remaining within industry standards of acceptable temperatures within said electrical box.
Hence there is a need for an invention which solves the aforementioned issues of appearance, safety, upgradability to future charging standards, repair of components of limited life span, and thermal limitations.
3. Background Art
U.S. Pat. No. 8,758,031 “Electrical wiring device with high current USB charging capabilities”